Category Archives: House

Charles Webster

Charles Webster announces new album, Decision Time

Image: The Vinyl Factory

Active since the early 80’s, Charles Webster is a British electronic music producer and DJ who specializes in producing house music, amongst several other genres, including downtempo and jazz. He has recorded under his own name as well as under a series of aliases including Presence, Furry Phreaks, and Love From San Francisco, and in collaboration with several other artists. Wikipedia

Berlins Black Loops  makes music in the House/Deep House genre. Fuzzy funk and soulful female vocals combine to give a disco house vibe to much of his music.
Black Loops has released 7 EP’s on the respected German House Record label Toy Tonics, and also released noteworthy EP’s on Neovinyl Recordings, Pets Recordings, and Gruuv and Good Ratio.

7Hills EP- Released November 6, 2018 and first with Freerange Records
https://soundcloud.com/blackloops/sets/black-loops-7-hills-ep

 

Paris EP- Released Aug 31 2018

Higher EP-  Released November 24 2017

 

 

Red Light EP- Released June30 2017

Ost & Kjek

Norwegian duo Ost & Kjexs debut album “Some But Not All Cheese Comes From The Moon” (2004), consisted entirely of sounds originating from cheese and biscuits, over their second long player. “Caj. Their sound has evolved greatly from the exclusive use of food as a sound source, trading their ticket to goofiness for a VIP pass at Fabric, where their infectious vocal led dance tracks have been widely embraced.

Joe Claussell is a pioneer, blending African and Brazilian rhythms with Disco and House since the early 1990’s. Inspiring the music world with his labels Spiritual Life Music and Ibadan records and with his legendary Body & Soul parties that he ran for 6 years with Francois K and Danny Krivit in NYC.  For Toy Tonics he remixed an obscure afro funk song by German Afro – Kraut Band Karl Hector & The Malcouns and Nicolas Tounga, singer from Burkina Faso. The original song was released on a limited 7“ on Now Again records/ L.A. in 2008. Sold out for a long time. Claussell’s remix is an amazing 11 minutes afro-tech jam. A great journey though styles.

The next track is Night Masquerade by Vito & Druzzi. Again: NYC guys. You might know the boys also for being part of The Rapture/ DFA. Since a few years they produce electronic music under the name of Vito & Druzzi. Part of New York’s Throne of Blood crew. Some might remember their vocal contribution for Joakim’s Bring Your Love. On their track for Toy Tonics they go tribal. Somewhere between Steve Reich inspired Gamelan pattern, smooth flowing over a 4/4 beat top by a nasty, 1970’s Funk synth solo that turns the whole track into a new direction.

Third track is by Kapote, man behind Toy Tonics and owner of many great records with hot samples. His Besamo Fly is a 110 Bpm slow house jam – makes you think about Mexican beaches or Paris Filter House nights of the 1990’s. – Soundcloud Review

London’s fast rising producer duo, Toyboy & Robin, have been infectiously fusing the sounds of house music with slices of garage, bass and everything in between. Raised on a healthy diet of Garage and 90’s RnB & Hip Hop Toyboy & Robin, started gaining admirers early in their career when they released ‘No More Sunshine’on UK Independent label Sccucci Manucci, which went on to reach number one on Juno and positioned a spotlight firmly on Toyboy & Robin’s slick garage-flecked productions.- Windish Agency

Sometime last year, hazy dance music from Vancouver party/production/DJ collective Mood Hut began to resonate with a wider audience. Mood Hut, which counts Cloudface, Pender Street Steppers and about a dozen other acts among its ranks, initially self-released tapes, mixes and a few vinyl EPs that displayed equal fervor for analogue house, new age and outré jazz. Their shadowy web presence, containing screeds on Vancouver city politics, hints at a febrile DIY community emerging from the cloudy Northwest.
Mood Hut began to forge connections with the global underground by hosting DJs from out of town at basement parties. Ben UFO described the cassettes he was given on a trip to Vancouver as “really strange dusty house stuff with an aesthetic leaning towards noise,” a description that could apply to productions by fellow party guest Max D. It’s fitting that Max D’s Future Times is now bringing Mood Hut to the world. -Resident Advisor

One of the main proponents of the current slow-mo and sultry house Revolution, Slow Hands aka Ryan Cavanagh is an organic specialist. His rich yet languid style bares all the hallmarks of the classical and compositional training he has had, whilst everything from jazz to blues to trippy electronica inform the New Yorker’s well honed production palette.  -Bandcamp

Project Pablo (Patrick Holland), is a DJ and Musician currently residing in Montreal, Canada. 2015 saw Holland’s debut full length release I Want to Believe (1080p) and his inaugural European Journey. Post-tour, South London’s Church imprint welcomed the Canadian to their roster with a solo outing via their V/A 12″ series “Church Volumes”, and a rougher collaborative record with Vancouver’s Wolfey, coined Jervis Pump Station. 2016 brought on a more comprehensive European jaunt for Holland covering 12 cities & clubs; including Copenhagen’s Jolene, London’s Corsica Studios, Vienna’s Celeste and Manchester’s Soup Kitchen. To compliment the trip, London’s Magicwire delivered Holland’s fourth 12″ to date, Priorities, on April 8th. Inspired by the depths of adult contemporary and moods and ‘tudes of his french/italian neighbourhood, the 4 cuts are aimed for the dance. This year holds further investigation of the European Continent in July and two records featuring previously heard and unheard music. RA

https://soundcloud.com/projectpablo/sets/i-want-to-believe

Peggy Gou is a Berlin based Korean artist. Through a regular stream of high quality mixes she has begun to turn heads in underground circles. Sitting somewhere between Detroit, London and Berlin in sound, her DJ sets are a assured, kinetic combination of dark, pulsing house and techno, broken beats and abstract compositions. -Resident Advisor

With another stellar year under her belt, Anja Schneider is hitting 2016 in inspired form. A new year means a fresh sound for the Berliner, who is diving deep into her record collection to draw inspiration from a variable palette of sounds from across the years. The accomplished three tracker kicks off with ‘Soul Traveler’, a rich jazzy vocal-led techno cut that shakes with Schneider’s unmistakable groove. Deeply nuanced and analogue-driven, ‘Vintage’ mixes up low humming bass, multi-layered drums and melodic chords for a beautiful deep techno offering. ‘Bay Side’ drips with atmosphere and is the artist’s brilliant twist on tech funk, driven by punchy keys, intricate drums and cascading synth hook that builds the tempo towards a satisfying dancefloor-ready crescendo. Soundcloud

Berlin-based, Londoner Jay Shepheard arrives with his inaugural Galaktika EP – yet another tour de force in intelligent and groove-based, acid-licked house. The ‘Silvery’ EP’s pseudo-title track ‘Light of the Silvery Toaster’ mirrors it’s namesake with crisp, metallic percussion and glimmering acid, all elevated by a deliciously tight, burbling baseline. ‘E To The Power’ meanwhile draws on Avery-esque, playful vocal trickles, whilst injecting that trademark sleazed-up Shepheard funk, building and building and into a relentless, joyous groove; leaving ‘K3’ to wrap up proceedings with 6 irresistible minutes of intricately layered, pitched down, disco-house, driven by a very clever two-tier bassline and shimmering, subtly melodic atmospheric washes.-Soundcloud

https://soundcloud.com/galaktikarecords/sets/glk058-jay-shepheard-the

Autarkic is Nadav Spiegel, a Tel Aviv born musician, who currently resides in Berlin. Autarkic is the latest representation of Tel Aviv’s cold wave scene. The leftfield movement through an Eastern lens. Holding up a mirror to the current state of his world, Autarkic (assisted by Red Axes) released the Hello To Mrs Blank EP last July on Golf Channel Recordings. 4 tracks which manage to be thought provoking, compelling, and even anthemic, in equal measure. Industrial Techno tribal goth dub vibes

Imagine you’re hit by a freight train and at the very same moment you’re tickled with a feather. That’s exactly how the groove of Dole & Kom feels like, and the track Phara Oh is another prime example. Bouncy beats and booming bass proclaim an unmistakable message: It’s all about the dance floor! A melodic torrent accumulates with each and every bar before it finally erupts and cascades through the arrangement in shiny streams. Then exotic singing starts and the track takes off, leaving the grey world of everyday life a thousand miles behind. The Remix by The Glitz is just as compelling, yet completely different: Based on an extremely heavyweight bass line their version merges the organic warmth of the original into explosive Funk. Away is the name of the second strike on this record, and it is just as uncompromising in terms of push and pressure. Weightless delays, drifting sounds and subliminal siren singing. The remix of the legendary combo from Mecklenburg draws its hypnotic power from lively percussions and a distinct feeling of deepness, creating their signature vibe.- Soundcloud

 

Opening track ‚In Spirals’ is an unabashed ode to funked up baselines and sparkling Italo melodies. ‘Agamous’ pulls us in to sensual acid territory by taking 808 beats and 303 beeps into unchartered sexy locales. ‘Go South’ continues the sexed up and synthy motif, and throws some electrified jungle drumming into the mix, making this the most intense and darkest track on the EP. ‘Don’t Push Me’ begins its journey with a more grooving disco percussion line and then heaps on some Chicago pads, ultimately blossoming into a full blown hands-in-the-air synth-exercise. – Soundcloud

Daniele Baldelli makes music that incorporates long synth funk jams and cosmic disco. In music, the term cosmic disco, and combinations thereof (cosmic Afro, Afro-Funky) are used somewhat interchangeably to describe various forms of synthesizer-heavy and/or African-influenced dance music and methods of DJing that were originally developed and promoted by a small number of DJs in certain clubs in Northern Italy from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s. The terms slow-motion disco and Elettronica Meccanica are also associated with the genre. Italian DJs Beppe Loda and Daniele Baldelli both independently claim to have invented the genre and mixing style – extracted from Wiki

 

Soultourist member and co-founder of Phantom Island, Foster, steps in with a 3-track EP which will impress the sophisticated disco crowd with awe. “Tease The Cat” is a neat lurker with outlandish Arabian innuendos woven into heartwarming synth melodies but dominated by a heavy pulsating bass line. If this causes the same effect on listeners as catmint does on felines still has to be tested. You also have to take a shot at “A.E.I.O.U.” to reveal its grandeur. A track paying evident tribute to Tony Espositos 80’s productions, but using modern day arrangement techniques not a lot of producers are capable of pulling out of their hats. Foster’s mastery is displayed further on the title track of the EP and the most dancefloor orientated track of the threesome, “Neon Life”. Here we encounter a murky Japanesque melody which builds up and up driven by an insane drum programming, that makes you wanna take off your clothes and dance in neon-lit rainfall all night long. – Bandcamp

It’s been quite a ride for Rampa over the last couple of years. When it comes to his appreciation of DJing and producing, he never solely cared about the diehard dedication to the four to the floor-aesthetic, but also about a certain attitude that communicates through his sets and original productions. An attitude that surely is informed by a spacious and varied record collection and also the ability to think and operate off the beaten path.
Most of his works meet all stylistic requirements of the current House and Techno agenda, but still, his mindset and openness will easily define them as outstanding pieces.
From 2009 on, Rampa made a name of himself through Keinemusik, his own little d.i.y.-cosmos, being not only label, but also crew of likeminded DJs, producers and friends. The teamwork within this realm has seen a serious number of premier productions and collaborations, particularly with fellow producer &ME, not to forget the rest of the bunch, Adam Port, David Mayer, Reznik and Monja.
Besides, he’s got some other collaborations under his belt. He produced a couple of singles with Nomi of Hercules & Love Affair- and Jessica 6 fame, released on Rebirth, as well as an EP featuring S.Y.F. of Azari III on Defected. And he’s got the RAR-thing going on, a joint venture with likeminded producer Re.You, which is not only their live-moniker, but also a prolific pairing in production. They released various remixes plus tracks on Keinemusik, Cocoon, Moon Harbour, Saved, Souvenir, Gigolo and Strictly Rhythm and they brought an unmistakeable analogue approach into the live-realization of this material. And talking of analogue approaches, Rampa also started his own production company for DJ-friendly effect-devices, called TEILE.
 So, if he’s not spitting out new material, be it solo or in collabos, Rampa is likely to be found behind some turntables somewhere around the world, representing his own definition of Techno and House, bridging the gap between deepness and elation. Never taking things too seriously, apart from those serious grooves he’s got in his pockets.-Resident Advisor

Bastard Jazz is proud to present another volume of our sporadic “Hear No Evil” compilations featuring unreleased tracks, B-Sides, Rarities and Remixes from the label. This time around we’re offering up a killer dancefloor remix of Potatohead People’s “Blossoms” by Montreal producer Nick Wisdom, Lord Echo’s unreleased dub of “Digital Haircut” from his Curiosities album, the instrumental of Captain Planet’s dancefloor burner “Poquito Mas”, and a beautiful samba-esque remix of the Elder Statesman’s “Montreux Sunrise” by Cali-cum-Rio DJ and remixer Tee Cardaci.

The Alma Negra collective consists with four Swiss based friends and musical kindred spirits. Crossing many musical traditions their eclectic sound is perhaps a result of their varied and cross cultural backgrounds. The Figuiera Brothers Dersu & Diego who have their roots in Cape Verde, Dario is half Italian, half Portuguese and finally Mario who has has Spanish roots. Collectively the foursome’s influences and skills are wide ranging, bringing of course DJing and production prowess and pooling a vast musical knowledge from jazz to African and Latin-music, Donald Byrd to Fela Kuti to Theo Parrish to name a few respected musicians.